Chapter 250 Xindu was attacked!
Chapter 250 Xindu was attacked!
On January 28, the Xindu merchant ship, flying a red flag, slowly passed through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and entered the Gulf of Aden from the Red Sea.
Although they were passing through one of the most dangerous routes in the world, the red flag on the ship was their reassurance, so Captain Cheng Yanfei and all the crew members seemed to be in a relatively relaxed mood. Except for the crew on duty, the rest of them were sleeping and playing, and there was no sense of urgency at all.
In the Red Sea, the main threat is the Husai organization.
These people even dared to rob Old M’s merchant ship…
But the big brother behind Husai is actually Persia.
With the relationship between China and Persia, can the younger brother still rob his big brother? Especially recently, Persia and Camel have a tendency to shake hands and make peace.
Husai, who felt that he seemed to be on the verge of being abandoned by his big brothers, tried harder and harder to protect the ships that should be protected and deal with the ships that should be dealt with in order to prove that he was still useful.
So it was very safe for merchant ships flying red flags to pass through the Red Sea. Even many foreign merchant ships liked to hire Chinese crew members when passing through the Red Sea, letting them hang around on the deck from time to time to increase safety.
However, after entering the Gulf of Aden, the risk factor began to rise.
Because the Somali pirates on the south bank were not as disciplined as Husai,
These poor pirates were like hungry wolves. As long as they got the chance, no matter who you were, they would come up and take a bite to see if they could eat meat.
However, their arrogance was almost suppressed after various countries began to send escort formations. Now there are only a few scattered pirate gangs who are still unwilling to give up and come out to run into walls from time to time.
As for why they were not exterminated?
This is actually a tacit understanding among many parties.
If the pirates were exterminated, there would be no reason to send out an escort fleet.
So although the Gulf of Aden is dangerous now, it is actually not high. Compared with the waters of the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa, this is simply a safe zone. As long as you follow the high seas route on the north coast, there will usually be no problems.
In addition, the north coast of the Gulf of Aden is also the sphere of influence of Husai…
After two days of sailing, the Xindu, fully loaded with cargo, finally sailed out of the Gulf of Aden without any danger and officially entered the Arab Sea.
After being away from the Somali waters, the safety factor suddenly increased by one level.
Although Cheng Yanfei seemed relaxed on the surface, he was actually still frightened by his previous experience. It was not until this moment that he finally let go of his heart.
Cheng Yanfei couldn’t help but sigh: “Ten years ago, the ships passing through here had to walk on steel wires to cross the sea. They were always nervous. Who would have thought that it would be so easy now.”
”Hey, Boss Cheng, don’t mention those stories we are tired of hearing…” Second mate Zhang Zhao, who was about to change shifts, said with a smile, “Anyway, the way home is one step closer. How about going to sing a song together?”
”Okay, you call Lao Li and I’ll go.”
”I’ll go. If you call him, my life will be sung away…”
”…”
The few people smiled and left the bridge cabin, went into the living area under the bridge to have a meal, and then were about to go to the entertainment room to sing karaoke, but a shrill alarm suddenly sounded in the entire cabin.
Cheng Yanfei’s face suddenly changed, and he immediately found a communication phone and picked it up: “I’m Old Cheng, who sounded the alarm?!”
”Boss Cheng, there are pirates!” ”!!”
The alarm continued, and the chief engineer had received a notice from the first mate on duty in the wheelhouse to increase the horsepower of the merchant ship’s engine to the maximum and began to turn left.
But such a large container ship, the fastest speed is only 22 knots, about 40KM/H, it is obviously impossible to get rid of the pirate attack by speed, and can only delay the time of contact between the two sides as much as possible.
After Cheng Yanfei rushed to the wheelhouse, he quickly picked up the telescope and began to observe the situation on the sea surface, and asked the first mate: “Have you called for help? What’s the situation now?”
”We have contacted, the Zhoushan ship is 392.7 nautical miles west of us, and is rushing towards us at full speed. We are also turning around at full speed, but…”
First mate Tian Qingzhi said here, and he couldn’t say anything.
392.7 nautical miles? ! Hearing this number, Cheng Yanfei’s heart sank immediately.
The maximum speed of the warship is about 35 knots. Even if the Xindu turns around and runs in both directions at the fastest speed, it will take at least 7 knots.hours to meet.
And 392.7 nautical miles is equivalent to 727 kilometers, which is far beyond the support range of the rescue helicopter…
Cheng Yanfei quickly used a telescope to see the traces of the pirates. The other side had a total of five speedboats. Speedboats in the Gulf of Aden are almost a symbol of pirates.
However, this time the pirate speedboats seemed to be much larger, and they were completely different from the broken fishing boats they used before.
From the direction, they are now about five kilometers in front of the starboard side of the Xindu, which means that when the alarm was just sounded, they were at least eight or nine kilometers away. Several speedboats so far away were discovered by Tian Qingzhi, which shows that he was still very serious and responsible when he was on duty.
But as the pirates continued to approach, the distance between the two sides began to get closer and closer, and everyone’s palms began to sweat.
“Damn, why would pirates go so far to rob!?”
Tian Qingzhi couldn’t help but curse, and felt that he was doomed today.
This question was also Cheng Yanfei’s puzzlement. The pirates he encountered today were strange everywhere.
First of all, the place where they encountered each other was more than 400 kilometers away from the nearest island of Somalia, the Debu Island. Pirates usually don’t go so far to rob. The wind and waves are high here, which is too dangerous for small speedboats.
However, from the situation observed by the telescope, the opponent’s speedboat is not the small fishing boat in the past, so this can be explained, but a new problem has arisen. The pirates in Somalia are actually a group of poor people who can’t even afford clothes. Where do they get the money to build a large speedboat?
And the direction they appeared was right in front of the Xindu, which gave Cheng Yanfei the feeling that they were waiting for them there…
”Xindu, Xindu, this is Zhoushan! How are you doing now?”
Hearing the voice coming from the microphone, Cheng Yanfei quickly picked up the microphone and answered: “I am Cheng Yanfei, the captain of the Xindu. The pirates are approaching quickly and it is expected that they will catch up with us in ten minutes at most!”
Hearing this answer, Zhoushan couldn’t help but be silent for a moment.
“Captain Cheng, don’t worry. We are rushing here at full speed. We are also calling for support from foreign warships near you… If we can’t make it in time and we can’t resist, please do your best to protect the safety of all crew members and wait for our rescue.”
”Understood… I’ll leave it to you then.”
After ending the call with a heavy heart, Cheng Yanfei observed the situation again, then turned on the radio and said: “Except for the engine room, all other crew members should immediately bring sticks, harpoons, bottles and other self-defense weapons they can find to gather on the deck! Let’s give him a good beating today!”
(End of this chapter)